Chapter 64: Reward

I wanted to pick the most visually appealing picture.Yes, I knew that for a picture to look pretty, the one in the picture had to be pretty as well, and I wasn’t even close to being pretty.

That was why I had to choose the best one among them all.

Adding various filters while comparing each of them, I asked Taemin oppa for his opinion.

“Which one do you think is cuter?”

Looking at the picture silently for a brief moment, he then spoke out.

“The first one?”

Yeah, the cooler-colored filter did suit the picture better. Alright, it was decided then—

“...Doah.”

Suddenly, Taemin oppa’s voice reverberated through the mic.

It even created a faint echo that rang across the room.

“...Yes?”

When I raised my head to look at him, he was holding out the microphone with a disgruntled expression.

“Should I sing another song?”

“Ah, sure, I’ll be done with this soon, so if you sing just one more song, I should be…finished…”

But my answer didn’t seem to please him.

“A-Actually, I’ll sing a song first…”

Hearing my words, Taemin oppa vigorously nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer as I took the mic from his hand.

Seriously. What was I supposed to do here? I wasn’t prepared for this!

Turning off the mic and placing it on the table, I grabbed the remote control.

Alright, what should I sing?

There were the two songs that he requested, but I didn’t have the courage to sing them for now.

Then again, I doubt that I’d ever gain that courage even if I were to delay it for eternity.

If any of our classmates were to hear me singing those songs…I swear, I would never leave my house without wearing a mask and a thick hoodie.

Singing a hardcore otakusong in a public place like this…

“Then I’ll sing this one.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, I pressed the start button. Then, a cheerful guitar accompaniment began to play.

“How can he be so indifferent?’

This song was something I sang often.

So, it was a good one for me to start with.

Since I was singing, my phone was laying flat. When I glanced to the side, I couldn’t help but shudder.

“Ah. Um, oppa?’

“...Huh?”

“Um…can you stop staring at me?”

It was nerve wracking.

No, seriously, it was way too embarrassing!

If he was just looking at me, I would be fine with it, but he was staring at me so intently!

Well, if it was a normal, intense stare, it would still be fine!

It was a bit rude of me to say this, but his stare felt somewhat perverted!

I’ve never seen him make this kind of expression before.

Anyway, hearing my complaint, he was quick to follow.

“Oh. Okay.”

A quick response was good and all, but why was he facing the wall instead?!

Ignoring the embarrassment washing over me, I grabbed onto the mic again.

“I was the fool waiting for you.”

“Now I’ll be leaving first!”

The more I sang, the more Taemin oppa seemed to like it.

“Phew…”

I finished the song, uttered a short sigh as I did so. Then, I looked to my side, only to find Oppa staring at me intently with glittering eyes.

“...What did you think?”

“It was wonderful.”

He looked really satisfied.

Did he look like this whenever he watched my streams?

Just imagining it made me giggle.

“Would you like to sing, oppa?”

I tried to hand him the microphone, but Taemin oppa vehemently refused.

“No!”

Rather than rejection, it felt more like a command.

“Oh…then should I sing one more song?”

“Please!”

…Look at him, acting like a Pink Army.

Well, actually, he was one.

Picturing a certain pinked haired emoji following Luka’s avatar, I pressed a button on the remote control.

This time, I figured that I should pick a trending song.

Yes, Japanese songs were nice and all, but I actually listened to Korean ones more often.

Ah, this one should do.

The music began playing.

“...Do you want to record me singing?”

“Huh?”

“I told you it’s okay if you want to record me singing.

“You know, I’ve never sung this song in front of anyone before, so you can treat this as a limited edition performance!”

Even in the pitch black of the room, I could see Taemin oppa gulped nervously.

“...Limited edition?”

“Well, you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Though I said that, I actually wanted him to record me.

I wanted him to store more of me instead of Luka in his phone.

Seeing my presence in his phone would make me happier compared to seeing the pink-haired avatar there.

-Ding!

But, when I heard the sound of Taemin-oppa’s phone recording, I couldn’t help but feel increasingly nervous.

Ah. Seriously.

This gave me a similar vibe to the time when I first recorded a song during my audition for Closer.

“Keep watching from behind because you can’t approach me~”

“I’m afraid of you getting further away the closer I get~”

The song went on for a while, and it seemed like he was still recording it.

In the middle of that, I suddenly had a thought.

If he kept on recording me from that angle, wouldn’t he only see the back of my head?

That wouldn’t be good, would it? But, it wasn’t like I had the courage to turn around and face him…

If I were to find out that he was still looking at me intensely, I swear I might just explode right there and then.

Ugh… What should I do?

Should I just finish this chorus and sneak a glance behind me?

The music continued to play, leading to the finale.

“Is this really Love? Somebody please tell me.”

I turned my body slightly.

With this, my side should be visible to the camera at least.

“Even the time spent waiting for you is slowly melting away~”

-Ding!

Hearing the noise of the recording ending, I wondered what to do with the person I saw beside me.

He looked like a dog.

An extremely big and cute dog.

“Doah noona… I’m going to die….”

His joking remark made me burst out in laughter.

“Pffft! How am I your Noona?”

“I dunno. Just be my noona.”

“Ew. I don’t wanna~”

The accompaniment of the second part of the song was playing, but I was more interested in teasing Oppa than continuing.

“Did you get a good video?”

“Of course, recorded it in 4kHD even.”

Good, good.

It was worth enduring all the nervousness while I was singing.

“Then if you want to listen to Luka singing, you have to listen to this song first okay?”

“I’ll just request another song instead.”

…That damn song request.

I felt awkward about continuing to sing, so I pressed the cancel button.

“What are you going to sing next, Oppa?”

“Me? Uh… Give me a second.”

After timidly grabbing and unlocking his phone, he looked at a screen with a bunch of words in it.

“What is this?”

“...A song list.”

“A…song list?”

“You know, since we planned for the karaoke, I figured that I picked the songs in advance…”

A question mark emoji appeared on top of my head.

I needed a second to process what Taemin oppa had told me. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴovᴇlꜰirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“So you wrote out all the songs you wanted to sing today?”

“Yeah.”

This would be the most important question.

“...But why?”

Like, you could just sing whatever you wanted.

It wasn’t like he was auditioning to be an idol or something, and I wouldn’t be shitting on him for being bad at singing.

“Because this is my first time going to karaoke with a girl.”

His reply only surprised me more.

“Also, wouldn’t it be rude if you’re the only one who’s singing?”

“Ah….”

Unsure how to respond, I calmly waited until Taemin oppa took the remote and hit the play button.

The song he picked was a song I knew well.

It was an old song though, so I was actually surprised to see him picking it.

I had long forgotten this song.

It instantly filled the room with nostalgia of my childhood.

“Come and have a drink with me~”

“I’m calling for you now~”

“Because I can’t forget you, I’m drinking another glass~”

Taemin oppa gripped the microphone firmly, entirely focused on the screen.

I wasn’t able to properly listen earlier because I was editing his profile picture, but now I could.

Honestly, if he wasn’t my boyfriend, I wouldn’t even consider his singing to be all that great.

His pitch was off at times, and his singing was just average at best.

But I still loved it.

I could picture him contemplating deeply about which song to pick.

His sincerity made my heart filled with warmth.

Grabbing onto the tambourine, I enthusiastically shook it along to the beat.

As soon as the song ended, Taemin oppa looked at me awkwardly.

“...I’m not that good, don’t you think so?”

“No, it was amazing.”

“Liar.”

“No, really, I like it!”

Realizing that Taemin oppa struggled with singing, I took the remote control from him.

I then changed the genre to Japanese.

Ugh, this was really embarrassing…

Was I really going to sing this song here…?

Still, watching Taemin oppa enjoy my singing so much strengthened my resolve.

After going to page three of Japanese songs, I reached the cluster where the anime OSTs were at.

…I can do this.

…I can do this!

Am I not an idol?

What kind of idol am I if I can’t do this much?

Sure, I was only a virtual idol, but I was still a part of a large entertainment company!

As the flashy music filled the room, I heard the sound of Taemin oppa’s phone recording.

This time, I swear I would never turn my body around.

Even if I were to die.

“Anata ga suki! Moe! Kyun! Moe! Kyun!

My voice sounded rather faint.

Deciding that I might as well put my all into it, I raised my voice.

“Koi no omajinai yo~ Todoke~”

After finishing the first verse, I had no stamina left to continue.

I pressed the pause button without hesitation, and threw the mic onto the table.

- Ding!

As I heard the sound of the recording ending, I buried my face in my hands.

I want to die.

I want to die.

Please, anyone, just get me back to my bed…

I snuck glances at Taemin oppa using the gaps between my fingers.

His gaze looked even more perverted than before.

Irritated by his lack of response, I uttered a sharp statement.

“... If you liked it so much, then hug me.”

What followed was a hug so tight to the point that I almost couldn’t breathe.

***

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